This historical thriller--enhanced by engaging graphic novelstyle illustrations and thoughtful design--tells the true story of Mary Bowser. An African American spy for the Union, Bowser worked as a maid in the home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis. A sealed envelope affixed to the book contains code-cracking tools readers can use to solve a mystery hidden within the text. Biographical and historical notes appended. Bib.

Using a provided packet of helpful tools, readers can search for clues along with a historical spy in the house of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.Fans of ciphers and hidden clues will find both in abundance, beginning on the copyright page and continuing to a final, sealed-off section of explanations and solutions. Fictionalized but spun around actual figures and events, the tale centers on Bowser, a free African-American who worked undercover as a maid in Davis' house and passed information to a ring of white Richmond spies. Here she looks for the key phrase that will unlock a Vigenère cipher—an alphabetic substitution code—while struggling to hide her intelligence and ability to read. As an extra challenge, she leaves the diary in which she records some of her experiences concealed for readers to discover, using allusive and sometimes-misleading clues that are hidden in Cliff's monochrome illustrations and in cryptic marginal notations. A Caesar cipher wheel, a sheet of red acetate, and several other items in a front pocket supply an espionage starter kit that readers can use along the way; it is supplemented by quick introductions in the narrative to ciphers and codes, including Morse dashes and dots and the language of flowers. Plenty of work for sharp eyes and active intellects in this history-based series opener. (answers, historical notes, biographies, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 10-12)

Launching the Spy on History series, this pseudonymously written interactive story is built around Mary Bowser, an African-American woman who served as a spy during the Civil War, under the guise of working as a maid for Jefferson Davis. Alberti dramatizes Bowser-s efforts to obtain information by eavesdropping and memorizing information on crucial documents. Readers can use -spycraft tools,- such as a cipher wheel, to crack a code and solve the story-s mystery. Fictionalized diary passages, engrossing illustrations from Cliff (the Delilah Dirk series), and typography manipulated to dramatic effect help create a gripping story that offers a window into a pivotal time in U.S. history and puts a face to a little-known figure. Ages 10-14. Illustrator-s agent: Bernadette Baker-Baughman, Victoria Sanders & Associates. (Jan.)

Gr 4-7Mary Bowser, born into slavery and later freed, is recruited to work undercover as a maid in Confederate Jefferson Davis's Richmond home in this reimagining of real-life events, the first title in a new series. Having infiltrated the Davis household, Mary deflects the suspicions of a white maid by pretending to be "simple." Meanwhile, she uses her photographic memory to scan documents while cleaning Davis's office, then relays her findings to the Union by way of a spy network. As pressure mounts to break the Confederate code, Mary senses suspicion narrowing on the household as she gets closer to learning the enemy's plans. The author not only crafts a highly suspenseful and visually engaging narrative surrounding real-life spy Bowser but also illustrates the final days of the Confederacy from an insider's perspective. The cogent use of codes and ciphers is sure to appeal to future sleuths and creates an elaborate mystery within the artwork for readers to solve. The spy tools found within an envelope inside the book offer a fun, interactive element that takes the experience to another level. VERDICT A swift read with plenty of action, combined with a smart spy heroine, this title is a strong addition to most historical fiction collections (despite the possibility of losing the loose spy materials to eager spies in training).Hillary St. George, Los Angeles Public Library